Moussa Sarr — À propos — Slash Paris

If Moussa Sarr uses the workshop as a space of research and experimentation allowing him to enlarge his corpus of animal characters, it is also a place of withdrawal and letting go where, through the interpretation of animals, he lets himself go to his delusions to finally become an animal-man. In this space where nobody looks, nor judges, the only witness remains the camera. For the artist, it is a political, social and artistic asylum.

Each character is distinguished by precise character traits and situations, which seem to be the corollary of their identity, here clearly assigned: the monkey is in a state of sexual pleasure, the stallion parades and fights, the rooster makes his crow ring. The question of prejudice is at the heart of Moussa Sarr’s practice, which often echoes current events with humour and positions the viewer, laughing and embarrassed, in a certain uncomfortable zone.

Some of his most recent characters, dealing with problems relating more particularly to the field of art. Among them, Super Congo, a monkey whose paintings have entered the international contemporary art circuit, or Duckman, a philosopher and art critic. Renewing his experimental subjects, Moussa Sarr also enriched his corpus of videos and performances by exploring mediums as varied as photography (Corpus delicti, 2014) and painting (Super Congo, 2016).

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After studying at the Toulon School of Fine Arts, Moussa Sarr took part in the Salon d’Art contemporain de Montrouge and Jeune création in 2008. In 2010, his work was selected for the FIAC, in the Cinéphémère program of the Ricard Foundation. Invited in 2011 by the BJCEM (Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Thessaloniki, Greece), in 2012 he presents his videos at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for the 17th edition of the Annual Boston French Film Festival. In 2013, he studied at Fresnoy — Studio national des arts contemporains before participating in the group exhibition “Mirages d’Orient, grenades et figues de barbarie” at the Collection Lambert in Avignon.

Winner of the Coup de Coeur Mécènes du Sud Prize (Marseille) in 2012, Moussa Sarr was also finalist of the Meurice Prize for contemporary art in 2016. His works have now been included in prestigious collections including the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Arras, the FRAC PACA, the FNAC — Fond National d’Art Contemporain (Paris), the Collection Lambert (Avignon), the Collection François Pinault and many other private French and international collections.